Women of Distinction

Irene Martinez Jordan, left, Colorado first lady Jeannie Ritter and Elaine Torres are among the 2009 Girl Scouts Women of Distinction. Photo by Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post

Change is good, as Girl Scouts of Colorado discovered when they switched up the format for the evening honoring the 2009 Women of Distinction. Chairwomen Barbara Kelley and Sharon Linhart welcomed 500-plus for cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres and interactive entertainment at the Donald R. Seawell Grand Ballroom.
In previous years, the Women of Distinction event had been a sit-down dinner held in a hotel ballroom.
The fun factor was definitely on. Girl Scouts were there to demonstrate a couple of the organization’s favorite international games: tinikling, which is from the Philippines, and is similar to double dutch, but involves bamboo sticks instead of jump ropes, and lemme sticks, a rhythmic New Zealand stick game.
Girl Scouts also helped guests make slime at a science station and invited everyone to take a look at some cool gadgets that they are making to help save the environment.
There also was a photo booth, a spot where Girl Scout decals could be placed on fingernails, and a S’mores station where guests roasted marshmallows over small burners andthen sandwiched them between various flavors of Girl Scout Cookies.
Girl Scouts also led the traditional flag ceremony that opened the evening’s activities, and the Prince Hall Cheerleaders were there to welcome and honor previous classes of Women of Distinction during the program
with some fun cheers.
Gov. Bill Ritter was there to congratulate the 20 Women of Distinction honorees, a group that included his wife Jeannie. Girl Scouts of Colorado’s new president
and CEO, Megan Ferland, also spoke and introduced her family, including her Girl Scout Brownie daughter, Haleigh Gage.
The 2009 Denver Women of Distinction are:Margaret M. Atencio
Active in Democratic Party politics, Atencio serves as second vice chair for the Colorado Democratic Party and was formerly vice chair for the First Congressional District. She was voted Democrat of the Year in 1993 and was elected as a national delegate to three national conventions: Chicago, Los Angles and Boston. She was appointed by Gov. Roy Romer to two terms on the Second Judicial Performance Review Commission. In addition, Atencio is a five-year member of the Brothers Redevelopment board.

Carol J. Burt
After 27 years in corporate finance and investment banking, Burt “retired” as senior vice president of corporate finance and development for WellPoint, Inc. to become a private equity investor and consultant with major private equity organizations in New York and Chicago. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, corporate real estate, risk management and mergers and acquisitions. WellPoint is a Fortune 35 health benefits company, and she was a member of the executive team that increased WellPoint revenues from a $3.3 billion market cap company in 1997 to a $50 billion market cap by 2007. Burt’s community interests include historic preservation, nature conservancy and women’s issues. She serves on the boards of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado, Downtown Denver, Inc. and Historic Denver.

Margaret A. Catlin
Margaret “Peggy” Catlin was named 2002 Woman of the Year by Colorado Women in Transportation and has spent much of her 27-year engineering career in transportation. In her 20 years with HNTB Corp., she was vice president of the central division and served on the executive team for the development of Invesco Field at Mile High. In 2000 she became deputy director of CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation), responsible for the day-to-day management, operation and overall strategic direction of the agency and its 3,100 employees. She also served as executive director of the Colorado Tolling Enterprise, created to designate a system of toll highways and to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the systems. Additionally, Catlin has served on many boards, including the Women’s Transportation Seminar International, Reason Foundation Mobility Project and the Colorado State University Civil Engineering Advisory Board.

Leanna Clark
This public relations professional oversees communications and charitable giving for IMA Financial Group, one of the country’s leading independent insurance brokers, risk management and financial services firms. She also is executive director of Project C.U.R.E.’s philanthro-travel division. Project C.U.R.E. is an international, Denver-based nonprofit that delivers medical supplies and equipment to developing nations. In addition, Clark chairs the board of the Public Education and Business Coalition and serves on the boards of Bright Beginnings and the Denver Metro Leadership Foundation and the Metro Denver Sports Commission’s International Bid Committee, which works to bring international-caliber sporting events to Denver. Clark has been recognized as one of Denver’s Forty under 40 top young business leaders.

Ivette Dominguez
When Ivette Dominguez purchased Alpine Auto at age 38, she was one of just six minority female dealership owners in the country. She continually strives to give women a chance, which has led to increasing the number of women she employes in all areas of the dealership. Dominguez has extended her efforts nationally to identify the growing female influence on the car industry as both customers and employee/owners. She honors her Hispanic heritage through work with the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and, in 2008, was named to the organization’s board of directors. In 2007, the chamber named Dominguez Business Woman of the Year. She also participates in Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build, which builds one home a entirely with women volunteers. As a tribute to the care her daughter received at The Children’s Hospital following a life-threatening injury, she has contributed time and money to the Children’s Miracle Network and the hospital.

Rae Ann Dougherty
Prior to forming R & R Strategies, Inc. in 1997, a firm specializing in performance management and information technology consulting services, Rae Ann Dougherty worked at Intel, where she led a company-wide, multi-national, multi-billion-dollar expansion. Her awards include the 2001 David E. Bailey Award for Small Business from Wells Fargo and the Thanks Badge, the highest national recognition from Girl Scouts USA. She also was selected as an International Woman of the Year by the International Biographical Centre. Dougherty’s commitment as a volunteer is to bring cultures and organizations together with a strategic vision and to be a strong role model and mentor for others. She has served in numerous positions for Girl Scouts USA and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

Donna Evans
In 2007, Donna Evans became the chief executive for the Colorado Women’s Chamber (CWCC), one of the largest women’s chambers in the nation. During her tenure, CWCC membership has significantly increased, and the chamber now offers popular new programs that are tailored to assist women meet their professional and business goals. Prior to that, Evans was with the Downtown Denver Partnership, where she guided important initiatives, including the highly successful panhandling program, Give a Better Way Campaign, which reduced downtown panhandling by more than 90 percent. She serves on the LoDo District board, the LoDo Economic Development Council, the Denver Metro Chamber public affairs board and marketing committee and the Denver Metro Convention and Visitor’s Bureau marketing committee.

Viola B. Garlington
Viola Garlington has spent 45 years working with children in our community as a coach, mentor, teacher and leader. She received the highest honor in Girl Scouting for her leadership, since 1959, in organizing Girl Scout troops for minority girls. For more than 20 years, she brought the sport of golf to boys and girls, ages 7-17, by coaching them as well as raising the funds to pay their greens fees. She also assisted in securing many college scholarships in golf. Garlington has worked to give children hope, character, a sense of purpose and just plain fun. She continues to be active in the Lions Club International, where she was proclaimed a Melvin Jones Fellow in 2004, the highest honor in Lions. In June 2008, she was inducted as governor of District 6C in Colorado at the International Convention of Lions in Bangkok, Thailand. Garlington also carried the Olympic Torch in 2002 when it came through Denver. She is the recipient of the Juanita Gray Community Service Award and the Humanitarian Award from the National Council of Negro Women.

Mary Foote Gearhart
Mary Foote Gearhart has more than 30 years experience in environmental and infrastructure engineering, including tenure with firms specializing in water resources in Colorado, development of statewide water quality standards for the Colorado Department of Health, implementing hazardous and solid waste permits and management of numerous large-scale environmental projects. She has been instrumental in developing innovative site closure strategies, least cost compliance strategies, performance-based permitting and alternatives for operational procedures that focus on manufacturing efficiency and regulator compliance. Gearhart chairs the University of Colorado at Denver Engineering Advisory Council. She also served as chair of the board of directors of the Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership for seven years. Gearhart was honored by the University of Colorado’s Board of Regents in 2006 with the Distinguished Service award.

Stephanie Harvey
A national leader in the field of education, Harvey gives speeches and conducts presentations and workshops for public and private schools and professional organizations across the country. Harvey is a regular presenter at literacy conferences, including her own Reading is Thinking conference each summer. She has touched millions of kids in her speeches, books, videos and curricular pieces. Harvey is an example of what one single teacher can accomplish and is a wonderful role model for girls wanting to grow up to be educators. Her Reading is Thinking model has propelled Harvey to the board of the National Geographic Society. She’s a leader for her daughter’s Girl Scout troop, and serves on the boards of the Rochelle Lee Fund Advisory Committee and the California Center for Literacy Development.

Irene Martinez Jordan
Jordan’s philosophy is that every child is gifted and talented, and it is our responsibility as a society to discover and nurture those talents. In her retirement, Jordan is serving as a consultant for the program manager for school redesign for the Denver Public Schools and as a new principal mentor for the DPS. She also serves on the school support team for the Colorado Department of Education. She has been interim principal for Slavens Elementary School, a superintendent for the southeast area and principal of West High and Rishel Middle schools. She also held several positions at Manual High School. Jordan’s other activities include the board of Arrupe Jesuit High School, the University of Denver Bridge Project scholarship committee, the Daniels Foundation scholarship selection and the Denver Education Senior Citizens, Inc. board.

Mashenka Lundberg
Mashenka Lundberg was the first female attorney to serve as general counsel at Holme Roberts & Owen and the only female member of the firm’s executive committee. Lundberg strongly encourages female associates in the firm not to shy away from the male-dominated realm of corporate law, but to dive right in and be as vocal and participatory as possible. As general counsel, Lundberg’s duties require her to be an expert on legal ethics and professional rules of conduct. Lundberg has served on the board for Girls Inc. of Metro Denver for five years and considers it a personal passion to serve as a role model to girls and young women. She has also helped scores of girls who have no support network and limited resources. Many of these girls are the first in their family to dream of high school graduation and to consider a college education.

Betsy A. Mangone
Betsy Mangone has been a leader in the major gift and planned giving field since 1982. She spent 16 years with the University of Colorado Foundation, serving as vice president for charitable gift and estate planning, and as corporate vice president. She also spent three years with the Denver Foundation as its vice president of philanthropic services. In 1996 she started Mangone & Co., a charitable gift consulting firm. Mangone has been president of the National Committee on Planned Giving and served as an advisor to the board of directors of the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable. Mangone has educated, led and assisted the nonprofit sector in Colorado in achieving stability and financial security through strategic and impactful fundraising strategies. Mangone has advised the Craig Hospital Foundation board of directors, served on the boards of Ronald McDonald House and the Kempe Children’s Foundation and is an honorary trustee of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado.

Leslie Mitchell
This year marks Leslie Mitchell’s 25th anniversary with FirstBank, where she started as a management trainee and has worked her way up to president. She has chaired FirstBank Holding Company’s loan committee; served on the Board of Real Estate Appraisers, a position appointed by the governor and approved by the State Senate; and headed the loan committee for SEEDCO Financial, a national community development financial institution. She is a board member and treasurer of the Denver Public Schools Foundation and serves on the boards of the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and the Public Education and Business Coalition. She was a graduate of Leadership Denver.

Kay Norton
The president of the University of Northern Colorado, Kay Norton is an advocate for public higher education and for building strong and sustainable university/community relationships. During her tenure at UNC, the school received the Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Preparation and Monfort College of Business became the first business college to earn the Malcom Baldrige National Quality Award. Before coming to UNC, Norton practiced law for 20 years. She was appointed to the UNC board of trustees in 1995 and served as vice chair until 1998 when she joined the university’s staff as vice president for University Affairs, general counsel and secretary to the board of trustees. Norton was named UNC’s first female president in 2002. In addition, Norton serves on the board of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the AASCU Commission on Presidential Leadership and Global Competitiveness, among others. Norton is also a member of the University of Denver Issues Panel on Immigration.

Jo Ann Millsap Pegues
Jo Ann Pegues has been a registered dietitian for more than 30 years, monitoring nutrition programs for the elderly and providing technical assistance to state units on aging and tribal organizations. Pegues’ focus is on instituting nutrition education in federal programs for the elderly with the goal of emphasizing the importance of nutrition in preventive and acute care for this vulnerable population. After her retirement, she joined the Center for African American Health and works tirelessly to ensure that the African American community is well represented in discussions for creation of the standards and delivery of care for diabetes. She also conducts classes several times a year on diabetes self-management. Pegues has a deep commitment to mentoring other dietitians. She has led the way to encourage registered dietitians to be excellent clinical practitioners and to expand into other areas to deliver their services. She has received numerous awards and recognitions during her career.

Jeannie Leweis Ritter
As Colorado’s first lady, Jeannie Ritter is dedicated to helping break the silence that surrounds mental health issues. There are thousands of people working for change in how those suffering with mental illness are diagnosed, understood and treated by doctors, therapists, organizations and government, and how they are regarded and received by society, she says. “I hope to use my position as Colorado’s first lady to give volume to the extraordinary voices already calling for change.” Ritter served in the Peace Corps in Tunisia, where she helped open educational and vocational centers for people with disabilities, the first of their kind in the region. Early in their marriage, Jeannie and Bill Ritter began their commitment to community service. They departed for Zambia in 1986, and for three years, ran a food distribution and nutrition center in the central African nation as lay missionaries for the Catholic Church. Ritter also helped to expand the role of the nutritional education center to include AIDS education and prevention.

Jil Rosentrater
As Colorado’s director of Art in Public Places (AIPP), Jil Rosentrater is committed to improving the quality of life in Denver and our region. She is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the state’s Percent for Art program. AIPP has successfully commissioned or purchased more than 400 works of art for the enhancement of state buildings and the enjoyment of Colorado citizens. She has helped to weave the colorful fabric of Colorado by cultivating cultural events and public art, preserving our history for the people of Colorado and building community capacity to solve problems. Rosentrater has won numerous awards for leadership and vision for communities, but her most telling volunteer legacy is the founding of Leanna’s Closet, which is an organization that gives women a start with a working wardrobe and the resources to build self-esteem. She is the 2007 recipient of the Founder’s Award, presented by the Community Foundation serving Greeley and Weld County.

Mary Ann Solano Shing
Her 30-year tenure with Brothers Redevelopment has become synonymous with the provision of housing and housing-related services for the region’s low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners. She began with Brothers as an administrative assistant and moved up the ladder and into her current position in 2003. As president/CEO, she supervises a $5 million budget and 40-person staff. Today, thousands of families count on Shing and Brothers Redevelopment’s housing-related programs. The agency is playing a key role in the state’s response to the foreclosure crisis. Shing is also active in other areas of the community. She serves on the advisory board for El Centro San Juan Diego and as the co-chair for the organization’s annual Las Madrinas fundraiser. Shing is a member of the Annunciation High School Hall of Fame, an alumna of the Denver Community Leadership Forum, a graduate of the Hispanic Institute’s Leadership Program and a 2005 Hispanic Annual Salute honoree.

Elaine D. Torres
Elaine Torres works to develop community initiatives that will enhance the CBS4 image throughout the community. She works closely with CBS4’s news, sales/marketing and creative services departments to execute community projects and media campaigns. Torres also manages station sponsorships, charitable giving and special events, and maintains contacts in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. She has served in her present position since 2001. Her prior positions include serving as the public affairs coordinator for the Denver Rocky Mountain News and as public relations director for Mi Casa Resource Center for Women, Inc. Torres was appointed by Mayor John Hickenlooper to serve on the Denver Latino Advisory Council in 2008. She serves on the boards and committees of many other nonprofits, including Colorado Business Committee for the Arts and the Wells Fargo Community Board. She serves as the media representative to the board of the Adoption Exchange. She was a member of the 2000-01 Leadership Denver class.

Study after study has shown that when it comes to charitable fundraisers, Denver has more per capita than any comparably sized city in the nation. Joanne Davidson has been covering them for The Denver Post since 1985, coming here from her native California where she'd spent the previous seven years as San Francisco bureau chief for U.S. News & World Report magazine.